DAR’s first Steering Committee Meeting and Launching Ceremony

10 November 2016

H.E. Youk Bunna, Secretary of State in the MCS and Vice Chair of the Committee of the Public Administrative Reform Service, H.E. Sak Setha, Secretary of State in the MoI and Head of NCDD-S, Mr Adelbert Eberhardt, GIZ Country Director, and Ms Maraile Görgen, GIZ DAR Program Manager (from right to left) after signing the MoU at the national level for the new DAR Program.

On November 4, 2016, the first Steering Committee Meeting of the new Decentralisation and Administrative Reform (DAR) Program took place. The objective of the new DAR Program is to support selected partner districts in Battambang and Kandal Province in delivering services to citizens in a more harmonised, responsive and transparent manner. To achieve this objective DAR Program not only closely cooperates with selected partner districts but also works with the NCDD-S and the MCS in developing and testing policies which then will be implemented at the subnational level.

H.E. Sak Setha, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Interior and Head of Secretariat of the National Committee for Sub-national Democratic Development (NCDD-S) as chair of the DAR steering committee opened its first meeting and highlighted the importance to jointly steer the Program with all involved partners which ensures a smooth Program implementation at the national and subnational levels. In the steering committee meeting, all DAR Program key stakeholders were presented: H.E. Youk Bunna, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Civil (MCS) and Vice Chair of the Committee of the Public Administrative Reform Service as well as his colleagues H.E. Chhy Vichara, Undersecretary of State, H.E. Kong Sophy, General Director, H.E. Chan Sophal, Governor of Battambang Province, H.E. Mao Phirun, Governor of Kandal Province, Mr Sok Sothy, Head of Division within NCDD-S, Ms Birgit Strube, First Secretary (Development Cooperation) at the German Embassy as well as GIZ Country Director Mr Adelbert Eberhardt and GIZ DAR Program Manager Ms Maraile Görgen.

Following DAR’s first Steering Committee meeting, the Program was officially launched during a ceremony with relevant partners from the NCDD-S, MCS, the Provinces Battambang and Kandal as well as with other Development Partners active in the field of decentralisation and administrative reform.

The launching ceremony was opened by H.E. Sak Setha and H.E. Youk Bunna. Both underlined the long and good cooperation between their Ministries and Germany/GIZ and highlighted the importance of delivering better services to the citizens. Ms Birgit Strube (First Secretary – German Development Cooperation) highlighted the importance of DAR Program and appreciated the achievements the Royal Government of Cambodia made in the decentralisation and administrative reform.

During the opening ceremony.

Representatives of DAR’s partner districts in Kandal and Battambang during the launching event.

The opening was followed by an introduction to the DAR Program presented by Mr Sok Sothy. He introduced the DAR’s approach to the representatives from the partner provinces Kandal and Battambang as well as to the representatives from district councils and administrations in the respective six partner districts.

The successful ceremony ended with the signing of the three Program Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) which were concluded between NCDD-S, MCS and GIZ as well as between Kandal Province and GIZ and Battambang Province and GIZ.

Mr Sok Sothy, NCDD-S, introducing the new DAR Program.

Ms Maraile Görgen, GIZ DAR Program Manager, H.E. Mao Phirun, Governor of Kandal Province, and Mr Adelbert Eberhardt, GIZ Country Director, (from left to right) after signing the MoU between Kandal and GIZ.